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According to a new study, going to bed later than usual to finish an episode or regularly read a little more of a book can be deadly.
Going to bed just an hour later puts you at risk of contracting the "silent killer disease."
Heart and other cardiovascular diseases are one of the biggest causes of death in the UK, accounting for around a quarter of all deaths.
There are a number of factors that can increase your risk of heart problems, including diet, exercise frequency and genetics.
However, a new study has found that your sleep habits can also affect your heart health.
"Research has shown that lack of sleep at night can damage the heart. Scientists have come to the conclusion that even mild sleep deprivation can be dangerous," says the cardiologist.
The 12-week study involved 35 healthy women who typically got the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep each night.
During the first six weeks of the study, they followed a regular sleep pattern. But in the next six weeks, they went to bed an hour and a half later than usual. They wore sleep trackers on their wrists to track their sleep habits.
It was found that after just six weeks of sleep deprivation, the cells lining the participants' blood vessels were exposed to harmful oxidants.
“This happened because the sleep-deprived cells were unable to activate antioxidant reactions to clean up harmful molecules. As a result, these sleep-deprived cells become inflamed and dysfunctional, which is an early critical stage in the development of cardiovascular diseases," explains the cardiologist.
This is some of the first direct evidence that mild chronic sleep deprivation causes heart disease. Until now, scientists have seen the connection between sleep and heart health only in epidemiological studies, but these studies can be confounded by many factors that cannot be detected and adjusted for.
"Only randomized controlled trials can determine whether this connection is real and what changes in the body caused by short sleep can lead to the development of cardiovascular diseases."
The doctor warned that adults often have to go to bed late at night.
Most people get up around the same time every day, but tend to delay bedtime by an hour or two. The researchers wanted to mimic this behavior, which is the most common sleep pattern observed in adults.
A cardiologist recommends that adults sleep from seven to nine hours a day. However, data shows that only 32 percent of people get seven hours of sleep and 17 percent get eight hours a night. Twenty-eight percent of people said they sleep six hours a night.
0
According to a new study, going to bed later than usual to finish an episode or regularly read a little more of a book can be deadly.
Going to bed just an hour later puts you at risk of contracting the "silent killer disease."
Heart and other cardiovascular diseases are one of the biggest causes of death in the UK, accounting for around a quarter of all deaths.
There are a number of factors that can increase your risk of heart problems, including diet, exercise frequency and genetics.
However, a new study has found that your sleep habits can also affect your heart health.
"Research has shown that lack of sleep at night can damage the heart. Scientists have come to the conclusion that even mild sleep deprivation can be dangerous," says the cardiologist.
The 12-week study involved 35 healthy women who typically got the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep each night.
During the first six weeks of the study, they followed a regular sleep pattern. But in the next six weeks, they went to bed an hour and a half later than usual. They wore sleep trackers on their wrists to track their sleep habits.
It was found that after just six weeks of sleep deprivation, the cells lining the participants' blood vessels were exposed to harmful oxidants.
“This happened because the sleep-deprived cells were unable to activate antioxidant reactions to clean up harmful molecules. As a result, these sleep-deprived cells become inflamed and dysfunctional, which is an early critical stage in the development of cardiovascular diseases," explains the cardiologist.
This is some of the first direct evidence that mild chronic sleep deprivation causes heart disease. Until now, scientists have seen the connection between sleep and heart health only in epidemiological studies, but these studies can be confounded by many factors that cannot be detected and adjusted for.
"Only randomized controlled trials can determine whether this connection is real and what changes in the body caused by short sleep can lead to the development of cardiovascular diseases."
The doctor warned that adults often have to go to bed late at night.
Most people get up around the same time every day, but tend to delay bedtime by an hour or two. The researchers wanted to mimic this behavior, which is the most common sleep pattern observed in adults.
A cardiologist recommends that adults sleep from seven to nine hours a day. However, data shows that only 32 percent of people get seven hours of sleep and 17 percent get eight hours a night. Twenty-eight percent of people said they sleep six hours a night.
